THE two words do not go well together: urban Sufi. Sufism, as a tarekat (path) to spirituality. It constitutes an Islamic tradition in its own right. It did not develop in urbanity—a term which refers to humans experiencing modern city life. “This is a contradictio in terminis,” said Muslim intellectual Azyumardi Azra regarding the term “urban Sufi”, citing a contradiction in terms.

However, this is what has developed in the country w